What we've observed when Langford has been used
Case studies and classroom examples from more than four decades of work with children, families and schools. Each one sets out what was done, what was observed and what it can and can't tell us.
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Different Starting Points. A Common Learning Goal: The Bamboo Program
- More than 10,000 students
- Chile and Peru
- Years 1 to 6
- 2016–2019
The Bamboo Mental Maths program was used in schools across Chile and Peru. Students completed an initial and a final assessment in each level. On average, the number of correct answers approximately doubled between the initial and final assessments. Individual results vary.
Level 12,800 students
Years 1 to 3
Level 21,829 students
Years 1 to 3
Level 31,535 students
Years 2 to 3
Level 12,091 students
Years 3 to 6
Level 21,248 students
Years 3 to 6
Level 31,369 students
Years 3 to 6
Addition & Subtraction
Level 12,800 students
Years 1 to 3
Addition & Subtraction
Level 21,829 students
Years 1 to 3
Addition & Subtraction
Level 31,535 students
Years 2 to 3
Multiplication
Level 12,091 students
Years 3 to 6
Multiplication
Level 21,248 students
Years 3 to 6
Multiplication
Level 31,369 students
Years 3 to 6
What do these results tell us?
The assessments show improvements in mental maths performance over the program period. They do not, on their own, establish that the Langford Method caused the improvements or measure changes in the six habits. Classroom observations and educator experiences provide additional perspectives on how children work and participate.
All case studies
In schools
Different Starting Points. A Common Learning Goal: The Bamboo Program
What initial and final assessments revealed about progress among 10,872 students in Chile and Peru.
Read and download PDFPreparing Children to Learn: The Shaka Program
An early-childhood project exploring foundational abilities and participation in learning.
Read and download PDFChanging the Conditions for Learning
How teachers at Domingo Urrutia described changes in their practice and classroom learning conditions.
Read and download PDFChanging What Is Possible: The María Escobillana School Experience
How school leadership and shared teaching practices supported a change in expectations and participation.
Read and download PDFThree Year Levels, One Room
How a rural school organised learning for children from three year levels in one classroom.
Read and download PDF
Background
The Mental Maths Gap: What 6,098 Students Revealed
A 2015 assessment exploring students' accuracy and fluency in basic mental calculation across school year levels.
Read and download PDFWhy Childhood Matters: What 2,109 Students Revealed
An investigation of foundational skills and classroom participation that helped shape Sylvia's focus on childhood.
Read and download PDF
From Sylvia Langford's practice
The Question Behind “How Do You Say…?”: The Boomerang Program
Vocabulary learning with more than 3,500 adult English learners, and how this experience later shaped the Boomerang program.
Read and download PDFConsistency and the Will to Act: Children with ADHD
Sylvia Langford's retrospective account of clinical work with 103 patients aged 2–25, exploring consistency, expectations and participation.
Read and download PDF
See Langford in classrooms
El Talito and Gabriela Mistral worked on Shaka programs.
Next steps
For families
Find out which habit may be a useful place to start.
Take the 2-Minute Family Habits QuizGet the free downloads
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